Twilight Angels
by Roxa-chan
Summary: A story of compassion around Christmas time. Will Axel give up something important for Roxas? Will Roxas give up something important for Axel? Read to find out. AkuRoku supportive.


Author Note(s): Okay, for one, I know that Roxas and Axel don't have hearts, but you must pretend for it is an AkuRoku fanfic. I don't want to be flamed at. You don't like yaoi, then simple: Don't read. (I don't know why you would even be in the AkuRoku section if you don't like yaoi...-.-;;..) Two, I know that the Keyblade and probably Axel's chakrams can't be seperated from their weilders but to make my story flow, then we must take away their weapons. You'll see what I mean once it's done. Three, they won't be teleporting anywhere. Four, it's a Christmas story, so...get into the spirit! x3 Setting: Twilight Town. Roxas and Axel have their own little house...-Nodnod.-

It was on a morning before Christmas and both a blonde and a red-head were sitting on the comfy blue sofa infront of their fire place. The two were best friends, probably more than that infact. This was their first Christmas together. The blonde sapphire eyed Nobody and his red-head companion were merely relishing each other's company for the holiday event. Roxas, the blonde, was leaning into Axel, comfortable in his arms. Axel's emerald gems sparkled in the flames. Our pyro was grinning down towards the youth who had closed his eyes and was listening to Axel's breathing.

"Roxas..." Axel softly inquired, as he shook the younger Nobody lightly. Roxas' hues blinked to life once again and he glanced up at his friend with a questioning look. Axel just smiled a bit more and ruffled the blonde locks, causing Roxas to giggled a little in enjoyment. "It's almost time for work."

"Yeah...I know."

"You should get ready. I need to go as well." Roxas merely nodded to the red-head and he got off the other. It was early morning and usually the two weren't up at such time but for once they had gotten up just to lay around and be with the other. The Dual Keyblade Weilder wandered off to his and Axel's room to go get some "going-out-side" appearal on. Axel followed in after him. Both of the males dressed into their Organization XIII outfits on opposite sides of the bed. Roxas took his azure scarf and wrapped it around his neck while grabbing the baby blue ear-muffs as well. Axel on the other hand took a red and green scarf and wrapped it around his neck.

"Well, I'm off Axel." Roxas said shortly, walking over to the door of their room which was already ajar. Axel blinked, still getting ready as the other was about to leave.

"H-hey! Wait!" Axel hurriedly said as the younger Nobody paused at the door and glanced over at him questioningly.

"Yes, Axel...?" The adolecent asked softly, his hand pressed to the door. Axel went over to the youth and planted a kiss to the side of his cheek, then pulled away. Both smiled at each other.

"Good luck with your job, Roxas." Axel said reassuringly, as he patted the boy on the shoulder and then turned away to go gel the rest of his hair. Roxas nodded and turned, flicking his wrist in a simple wave.

"See ya, Axel."

Roxas took his skateboard from the very front of the house and put it on the porch. He then placed a foot carefully on the board and then took off towards Station Heights. Finally he stopped infront of the board that listed jobs available to work in. There was a mail delivery job. Sounded easy. There was also a job that included helping a man pull carts up to his garage. There's an idea, maybe he could get a lot of munny...The final job on the list was to entertain people as a grandstander. He blinked, staring at the jobs in thought. First he would try the job that required the most mannuel labor. If that didn't work out, he had two other choices.

He summoned the Keyblade forth and gripped it as he got ready to hit the craft up the hill. Lucky it hadn't snowed all month just yet, otherwise it would have been harder. He took in a deep breath as he began to knock the thing up the hill by putting force to his Keyblade and smacking it like crazy to please his current boss. He gave grunts with each hit he made. It was hard work, and it should give good pay. He continued until finally it was atop the hill and he gave it a good swing and the thing zoomed into the garage. He looked over at the boss and waited to get a rating.

"Not bad..." Said the man, who had his arms crossed over his chest. He handed out young hero ten munny, smiling a bit. Roxas blinked, glancing down at his pay, then back at the man. He forced a smile on his face, disappointed with what he got though. All that hard work and all he got was ten munny? Was he that bad?

"Thank you..." He responded half-heartedly as he went back down to the boards to try one of the other jobs...

Meanwhile...

Axel had finally gotten his hair spiked the way he liked it and was off to go work. He worked, ironically, for Marluxia. The one guy he hated most because not only did Marluxia pay him very little...The guy was trying to copy his looks too!! Okay, actually, that's not why he hated the guy. What really ticked him off was that the auburn haired male made him take care of freaking plants and sell the pine trees to people. Axel sighed as he got to work, signing in on his time sheet and then taking his post outside of the small building where Marluxia's office resided. Watching people pass by was boring. He waited a long while until a man and his wife and their daughter and son walked up to him while he leaned on a small sign that advertised the selling of Christmas trees.

"We would like to buy a Christmas tree..." The man said timidly, hugging his wife close to him as she smiled modestly. "We don't want anything big...just a small one, if you have any."

Axel smiled and nodded, reassuring the man he came to the right place. "Of course, sir. Right this--" Axel had been cut off as Marluxia had stepped out. He heard the words "Buy a Christmas tree" and he was there.

"Christmas tree, you say?" He asked with a devious grin. Marluxia ushered the small family away from Axel. "Yes, right this way, I'll show you some of the…'smaller' trees we have." Axel stood there for a moment, watching them leave to follow the other Nobody. He shook his head, knowing what Marluxia had in store for the family. "You see here, we have a smaller tree. But, it's not that cheap, unfortunately." He pointed at about a seven foot tree out in the woods of Twilight Town. "It's around five hundred munny. All you have to do is sign here." He showed the man of the house a small clip board.

"B-but all we have is this..." The man said, showing the Nobody fifty munny.

"That'll do for a down payment." Marluxia said while handing the man a pen. The male took the pen, shaking a bit as he got ready to sign. He watched as his children jumped up and down happily.

"Oh boy, we're getting a Christmas tree." They both said in unison.

"Better not keep the kids waiting, Pops..." Marluxia said, as if urging the man into buying. The pressure that poor man had to go through now...

Axel watched, frowning a bit. He suddenly got an indignant look and wheeled around to the group of people in the woods with a smaller tree. It had a more reasonable price. "I found this around back...It's much cheaper. Around fifty munny." Axel stated boldly as his boss looked over at him with a glare. Axel stood his ground at this. The man smiled and handed the pen back to Marluxia as he went over to Axel and nodded a bit as they made agreements. Axel took the munny and watched as the family went with their new tree, a beam over his lips. "Merry Christmas!" He called as he waved to them while they left. The family returned the wave, calling the same greeting. When the red-head turned around he found Marluxia hovering over him, metaphorically, in utter rage. Axel had just cheated him out of four hundred fifty munny. He was most unpleased.

"Axel! I'm taking this off your pay! You can keep the fifty munny, but you aren't getting any of the commission. Also, you're fired!" Marluxia growled as he walked off bitterly. Axel's fists clentched. He had been fired and...This was the last straw!!! His hands engulfed in flames as he placed it against one of the trees and then let the fire rage on against the other trees. Burning each and every tree down to the ground beneath. Axel then walked off to let Marluxia see his beautiful pine trees burnt to smoldering ashes...

Great, now I have to get a new job. Axel thought as he walked down the street, spinning his chakrams. He blinked as a sign popped up out of no where. He looked at the sign and read it, glancing down towards his beloved weapons. The pawn shop was no accepting weapons. Dare he sell the only treasure he had? It was for Roxas after all...

Meanwhile...

Roxas was busy doing his grandstander act. He was failing miserably. After each performance the little girl in charge of his act only gave him thirty munny. There was only five acts. Adding up to: one hundred fifty munny. One hundred sixty adding the ten he earned earlier with the cart pushing. He sighed softly, thanking her for the pay. This was not enough to get that one thing Roxas felt Axel needed most. He wished so much that he could get Axel this one thing and at the rate he was going he would never earn enough munny to get it. The blonde Nobody went up the plane to the boards once more. He scanned his finger over the board until it ran across the last job. Mail delivery? That sounded easy. He sighed and went to the woman who was in charge of it all. He tugged on her shirt a bit, sighing softly.

"Ma'am?" He asked softly. She glanced down a little at him and smiled warmly.

"Yes Roxas? What can I do for you?" She asked with that warm smile of hers.

"Well, I wanted to fill in the job that you have open. The mail delivery one." He said softly, gaze downcast as he spoke. She frowned a bit and put her hands on her hips.

"Roxas..I'm sorry, but that position is already taken. We don't need anyone right now. I'm very sorry." She quietly stated, trying to be soft on the boy. He looked up at her desperately, and then nodded a little.

"I see...well, thank you ma'am." He murmured as he walked away in defeat.

"Merry Christmas, Roxas!" She called as he went on his way, skateboard in hand. He returned the greeting half-heartedly. Oh, this was going to be the worst Christmas ever!

Meanwhile...

Axel had decided to wait a little while before selling off his chakrams. He glanced at the clock. It would soon be time for him to go home, empty handed. He hadn't earned anything more than fifty munny! How was he going to get Roxas a gift? Sell his chakrams? The only protection he had from all his enemies? Or try and earn enough munny in a hour?! He decided that instead of putting stress on himself he would go ahead and slip off to the pawn shop. He walked down the street, searching for the sign. Finally his emerald orbs found that sign and he went inside quietly. Silent as the wind he walked up to the counter and put his round weapons on the counter. A man behind the counter who was arranging things below stop up straight and then looked at Axel.

"Yes? How may I help you today, sir?" He asked. The man had never seen Axel around here before. Infact the store had opened recently and was quite new. Axel pointed to his chakrams, as if that would explain why he was there.

"I want to trade these in for something...It's a present for a dear friend." He muttered. His last resort was this one thing.

"Let's see then...Ah! These are very expensive, sir." He exclaimed in slight shock that the red-head would be selling such a thing. Axel merely shrugged at the reaction. The man looked up at him from the chakrams. "Are you sure you want to sell them?"

"Yes. Like I said...it's a gift, for a dear friend of mine. So what can I get for him?" Axel asked, blandly. He tried to act like he didn't care. Those weapons were his prize possession, but Roxas was more important to him than any material object ever could be. A smile formed over his lips at the thought of this. He was doing it for Roxas. Not himself. Such a noble deed. He couldn't wait to see Roxas's expression when he showed the young blonde his gift.

"Well, let's see...why don't you come back here with me?" The man asked, walking into a back room of the store. Axel followed the man and was allowed to look around at everything. He shook his head at a few of the objects. They weren't things that the young Nobody would ever want. Some of the items he saw really did seem like good gifts, but they didn't satisfy him. Finally he came to a conclusion as of what he would get his young blonde friend. He pointed towards the selection and it was wrapped up. He then went on his way, whistling in pleasure. This was going to be a good Christmas after all...

Meanwhile...

Roxas was wandering the streets as a group of Heartless randomly attacked him. He frowned a bit and summoned both Oblivion and Oathkeeper to aid him in the little battle. "This is not a good day to bother me, Heartless." He addressed them. It was a warning, but one was stupid enough to engage in battle. It got slashed in half then the rest of the small shadows followed in after. Roxas growled as he went into a swinging frenzy with his Keyblades. He got one or two hits, but the rest was all in his favor as the slaughter ensued. Once he finished, he was greeted with a voice from a little girl across the street.

"You and your keys make a good team." She said with a smile. Roxas looked down at the girl that had now came across to stand next to him. He nodded and smiled weakly.

"Yes...we do." He looked down at the Keyblades and suddenly it hit him. He had seen a sign at the pawn shop! The sign addressed the fact that if one wanted to they could trade in their weapon for something else! This was perfect! He looked back towards the girl and grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks, little girl. You've just given me hope." He turned around and then dashed off in the direction of the pawn shop.

The red-head male of our story had just left the pawn shop as Roxas came running up and ran inside before closing time. It was getting late and the boy had to hurry. He hadn't noticed that Axel was just there. Roxas was panting as he slammed both Keyblades on the desk.

The man glanced up and over at the blonde youth. He smiled a bit, knowing now what was going on. "How may I help you?" He asked warmly, not minding the slamming.

"I..want to trade these...in to get a..gift...for my...friend." He said through pants for breath. The man nodded and as he looked down, his eyes widened. Keyblades?! The boy was seriously going to give up his Keyblades for a present?

"Are you serious, boy?" He asked in utter befuddlement. This boy's friend must have been very important to him.

"Yes sir." Roxas answered, no longer out of breath. He had regained his usual breathing. "I'm very serious." His sapphire hues showed utter determination. He would get what he came for.

"Ah, alright then. Come with me..." He said as he led the boy into the back room, taking the Keyblades with him for safe-keeping. Roxas followed the man behind the counter and into the room. He glanced around through everything, looking for that object he had seen only a week ago and knew he would get for Axel. He spotted it in a matter of five minutes and pointed to it. The man took a stool and stepped on it then reached for it. He grabbed the item and then went to go wrap it up. He decided to add a little extra for the boy. "Oh, young man, do you like fruit cake?" He asked curiously. Roxas gave a shrug. He had never tried it before. "No? Well then here. You can have this. My wife make a great fruit cake." He said with a wink. Roxas took his wrapped up gift and the fruit cake and nodded.

"Thank you very much." He replied with a small smile as he took his skateboard from the door and then took off down the road, being very careful on his skateboard with all the things in hand. He got home just after Axel had gotten home. It was the usual timing. Roxas had always gotten home after Axel maybe five minutes in between. Axel had already put his present near the couch somewhere and was sitting there infront of the fire place. Roxas came into the room after putting his skateboard up near the door. He had hid his present on the side of the couch away from Axel and went over to the fire place to place the fruit cake on the mantle with the stalkings. He then went to sit next to the elder Nobody. Both of them relaxed for a while, letting the silence engulf the room for a moment before they eventually got restless.

"Roxas...I think it's time you open your gift." Axel announced as he lifted his present from the side of the couch he sat on. Roxas blinked and did the same.

"I think it's time you opened yours too, Axel." The blonde responded, blushing some as they exchanged gifts. Axel began to burn off the paper rather than tearing it like Roxas did. Both sets of eyes widened when they saw what they got.

"...A..cleaning kit for my chakrams?" Axel curiously muttered in slight confusion. He looked over at Roxas, smiling awkwardly. "You shouldn't have..."

"...A keychain...for my Keyblades...?" Roxas murmured softly, slightly depressed now. They looked at each other in slight realization as a hushed silence consumed the room. "I sold my Keyblades to get you that cleaning kit..." Roxas admitted first.

"And I sold my chakrams to get you the keychain." He retorted lightly. They both frowned for a moment, gazes to the floor. After a moment of more silence the two looked at each other. They placed their gifts and wrapping down then pulled each other into a hug. Axel kissed the younger Nobody passionately on the lips for only a brief moment then they pulled away from each other.

"Merry Christmas..." They both said, beaming at each other. They were so happy that tears began to run down their cheeks. The door bell suddenly rang and both sets of eyes blinked as they got up to see who might be at the door. When they opened it a chorus of voices including all of the Organization XIII members except Marluxia, which was directed by Demyx, thus not including him either, welcomed them. The smiled and Roxas leaned into Axel as the listened to the beautiful carols that they sang, even joining in with the songs. It had turned out to be a wonderful Christmas after all...

Remember. A gift from the heart doesn't have to be expensive, it just needs to include love and compassion. Sometimes we must give up what we care about most to show those that we care about them even more. It pays off...


End file.
